Container body

ABSTRACT

A container body particularly adapted for containing frangible baby bottles and the like, the container body being comprised of two pieces of thermoplastic material manufactured by a novel method and including novel interconnecting means formed upon the two pieces of material.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Elvin C. Moody References CitedWellmgm, UNITED STATES PATENTS [21] P 848348 922,413 5/1909 Friedrich215/11.3 x [22] Filed Aug. 6, 1969 1,669,061 5/1928 Meltzer 215/1 1.3[45] Patented Oct. 19, 1971 2,685,319 8/1954 Swasko... 150/52 [73]Assignee Forest City Foam Products, Inc. 2 706 571 4 9 R 2 3 Xwellington Ohio /1 55 yan 1 15/11.

I 3,304,603 2/1967 Piker 215/13 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,044,376 6/1953France 215/12 (881) Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton 1 CONTAINER BODYAtt0rneyDiller, Brown, Ramik & Holt 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 150/52 R, ABSTRACT: A container body particularly adaptedfor con- 215/11 C, 215/ 12 R taining frangible baby bottles and thelike, the container body [51] Int. Cl 865d 23/08 being comprised of twopieces of thermoplastic material [50] Field of Search 215/1 1.3,manufactured by a novel method and including novel inter- 12, 13; 150/52connecting means formed upon the two pieces of material.

PATENTEDutI 19 um mvamon ELVIN C .MUUDY ATTORNEYS BY 9% ,W

CONTAINER aonv BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presently preferred typeof container used for infant feeding is a baby bottle made of glass.While plastic baby botties are available these are not preferred forinfants but rather for children who are old enough to have developedresistance to germs and various infections. For infants, glass babybottles are preferred to plastic ones because of the ability to moreproperly sterilize the glass bottles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Another object of the invention is to provide anovel method of making the aforementioned protective container body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of forminginterlocking annular members including the steps of forming an annulartube such that first and second tubular portions are connected togetherby an integrally formed removable portion and are provided with firstand second connection means respectively, such that upon removing theremovable portion, the first and second tubular portions can beinterlocked with the first and second connection means.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear,the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reverenceto the following detailed description, the appended claimed subjectmatter and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

IN THE DRAWING:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly'in section, showing a moldedone-piece container body blank and illustrates those portions of theblank which are removed subsequent to moldmg.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly in section, and shows the finishedcontainer body enclosing a conventional infant feeding bottle; 7

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, taken on the line 3-3of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3,and illustrates the connection means for attaching the cap member withina bottom portion of the tubular container body.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 3,and illustrates rib means on the cap member nesting within a reinforcinggroove on the tubular container body.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIG. 1 shows a container body,generally indicated by the numeral 10, in the form of an annular tubecomprising a first tubular portion 12, a second tubular portion 14 and aremovable portion 16.

The first tubular portion 12 includes a central portion 18 terminatingat an upper strengthening rib 20 and a lower strengthening rib 22. Alower portion of the first tubular portion 12 includes an enlarged skirt24 slightly larger in internal diameter than central portion 18. Theskirt 24 has a flared flange portion 26 which provides access to agroove 28 formed interiorly of the rib 22 for a purpose to be laterdescribed.

The first tubular portion 12 terminates at the upper end thereof in aconical portion 30 which includes an inwardly turned shoulder 32 and aremovable panel portion 34.

The second tubular portion 14 is in the form of a cap member whichincludes a sleeve portion 36 which has an external diameterapproximately equal to the internal diameter of enlarged skirt 24, whilethe bottom part of sleeve portion 36 terminates with a reinforcing rib38 and an end panel 40. Sleeve portion 36 is provided with a pair oflugs 42 spaced about the periphery thereof and adapted to interfitwithin groove 28 in the rib 22 to provide connection means fordetachably connecting the second tubular portion 14 to the first tubularportion 12.

The removable portion 16, as is shown in FIG. I, is formed with a varieddiameter wherein a first portion 44 is larger than a second portion 46.As a result of this difierence in diameters, the portions 44 and 46 canbe removed by cutting along the lines shown in FIG. 1 and the secondtubular portion 14 can be telescoped within the first tubular portion 12by first aligning lug 42 with the flared flange portion 26 and, afternesting, slight relative rotation of the first and second tubularportions places the lug 42 within the groove 28 thereby forming a hollowcontainer which is particularly adaptable for protecting a frangibleinfant feeding bottle 48 therein.

Conventional bottle 48 is provided with a conventional screw-threadedcap 50 and a flexible nipple 52. As is shown in FIG. 1, the removablepanel portion 34 is removed such that the nipple 52 can extend throughthe resultant opening and the inwardly turned shoulder 32 engages thecap 50 to hold the bottle 48 within the container body 10.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the invention, it itsbroadest aspects, relates to a method of forming interlocking annularmembers by providing a removable section during the initial formingoperation such that after removal of the removable portion the twotubular portions can be interlocked by the provision of lugs and grooveswhich are formed during the initial manufacturing process. A particularembodiment of the invention is disclosed as comprising a container bodywhich forms a protective jacket for frangible articles such as infantfeeding bottles wherein the bottles are protected against breakageand/or scattering of fragments in the event that breakage does occur.

While preferred forms and arrangement of parts have been shown inillustrating the invention, it is to be clearly understood that variouschanges in the disclosed method and article may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

lclaim:

I. An article comprising a protective jacket for a glass bottle and thelike including first and second tubular portions, an end member closingone end of one of said tubular portions, an opening formed in an end ofthe other one of said tubular portions, one of said tubular portionsincluding a skirt and the other of said tubular portions including asleeve portion, said skirt having an internal diameter and said sleeveportion having an external diameter which are approximately equal toeach other, lug means integrally formed on said sleeve portion andextending radially outwardly therefrom, a rib formed contiguous withsaid skirt and extending radially outwardly therefrom and having agroove formed interiorly thereof, said skirt having flared flangeportion means protruding outwardly therefrom and communicating with saidgroove for providing an access route for moving said lug means into saidgroove for interlocking said first and second tubular portions with eachother.

2. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein said lug means comprise apair of lugs circumferentially spaced about said sleeve portion, andsaid flared flange portion means comprise a pair of flange portionscircumferentially spaced about said skirt with the spacing between saidflange portions being equal to the spacing between said lugs.

3. An article comprising a protective jacket for a glass bottle and thelike, said jacket including a tubular container body formed ofthermoplastic material and being of sufficient height for containingtherein substantially all of said bottle, reinforcing rib means formedin said tubular container body, said rib means including a groove meansformed interiorly thereof, a cap member including a sleeve portiondisposed within said container body, lug means on a surface of saidsleeve portion, said lug means being located within said tapered reducedportion terminating at inwardly turned shoulder means which define anannular opening, said shoulder means comprising means for engaging anend of said bottle for holding said bottle within said container body.

1. An article comprising a protective jacket for a glass bottle and thelike including first and second tubular portions, an end member closingone end of one of said tubular portions, an opening formed in an end ofthe other one of said tubular portions, one of said tubular portionsincluding a skirt and the other of said tubular portions including asleeve portion, said skirt having an internal diameter and said sleeveportion having an external diameter which are approximately equal toeach other, lug means integrally formed on said sleeve portion andextending radially outwardly therefrom, a rib formed contiguous withsaid skirt and extending radially outwardly therefrom and having agroove formed interiorly thereof, said skirt having flared flangeportion means protruding outwardly therefrom and communicating with saidgroove for providing an access route for moving said lug means into saidgroove for interlocking said first and second tubular portions with eachother.
 2. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein said lug meanscOmprise a pair of lugs circumferentially spaced about said sleeveportion, and said flared flange portion means comprise a pair of flangeportions circumferentially spaced about said skirt with the spacingbetween said flange portions being equal to the spacing between saidlugs.
 3. An article comprising a protective jacket for a glass bottleand the like, said jacket including a tubular container body formed ofthermoplastic material and being of sufficient height for containingtherein substantially all of said bottle, reinforcing rib means formedin said tubular container body, said rib means including a groove meansformed interiorly thereof, a cap member including a sleeve portiondisposed within said container body, lug means on a surface of saidsleeve portion, said lug means being located within said groove meansfor interlocking said cap member and said container body and closing oneend thereof.
 4. An article as defined in claim 3 wherein the end of saidcontainer body remote from said cap member includes a tapered reducedportion terminating at inwardly turned shoulder means which define anannular opening, said shoulder means comprising means for engaging anend of said bottle for holding said bottle within said container body.